this was the very first page not where the story line ends
by ChocoholicMonkeyfish
Summary: An au of the World of Terror 3 au. Riley meets the world without Maya and everything changes when Lucas Friar moves to the city. Originally posted for the day two prompt of rucasfanfictionweek2016 on tumblr.
1. Part I

_I've been working on a sort of AU of the WoT3 AU_ _which I was largely unimpressed with_ _and this is basically a prequel to that. How Lucas and Riley met without the influence of Maya. I'm hoping to continue working on this one, I have a lot of ideas of how their relationship would develop in this world._

* * *

 _"and thus began the great American Revolution which brought a new era of change to the country."_

Riley closed her textbook with a sigh. The problem with growing up with a history teacher for a father was that you often learned all of the things in the textbooks on family vacations or trivia nights. This was especially true this year now that she was in his class.

She loved to learn new things and lose herself in her studies, she just hoped that they would eventually learn something new to her or it was going to be a very boring year.

The first bell finally rang. As usual she was the first one there, having come in early with her father, and was sitting front and center. A few of her classmates started to tiredly make their way into the classroom. Some stopped long enough to say good morning but most just shuffled over to their seats.

Farkle came in just before the second warning bell and immediately sat in the desk to her right, launching into a discussion on their science homework from the night before and barely giving her a chance to respond. She sat facing him and listened as he offered a more complex alternative to the experiment they would be performing in class. He was sure the teacher would see his superior approach and allow him to demonstrate it for the class.

Riley just smiled at her genius friend. They had known each other for years through their parents who had gone to school together back in Philly. Farkle was awkward and at times overbearing but he had a good heart and Riley was glad to call him her best friend. Even though they didn't hang out often, and mostly only studied when they did, she trusted that he would have her back if she ever needed him.

Her father entered as the late bell rang as if he'd time it and told the class to take out their textbooks. Everything was exactly the way it always was, until suddenly it wasn't.

One of the benefits of sitting in the front row was the unobstructed view of the door and therefore she was the first one to see him. The tall, blonde-haired boy stood in the open doorway for a moment before walking towards her father's desk.

Taking the note from the boy's hand her father introduced him as _Lucas Friar_ , a new student from Austin, Texas. He motions for him to take the open seat behind her and she can't keep her eyes off the new boy as he walks past her.

He smiles briefly at the other students staring at him in interest before taking his seat. He seems a little nervous and out of place and Riley instantly feels a burst of empathy for him. It must be hard to be starting over in a brand new place and not know anyone.

Riley has always been a naturally friendly person. Her mom says her need to make the people around her feel happy and comfortable is her greatest strength, but for the first time she's not sure how to proceed. There are a swarm of butterflies in her stomach working their way up into her throat and their constant fluttering is causing her to choke on her words.

Clearing her throat she turns around before she can stop herself. Her eyes meet his green ones and the butterflies morph into something bigger. Like an ostrich.

"Hi," she says eventually.

"Hey."

"Hi." He smiles at her repetition. He has a nice smile.

"Welcome to John Quincy Adams." Five whole words. In their proper order. It's a miracle.

"Thanks." His smile widens and another miracle occurs as the ostrich learns to fly.

"Miss Matthews!" She turns abruptly at her father's panicked voice. He glances quickly between her and the boy sitting behind her. "Can you summarize the reading from last night, please."

As she answers her father's question she can't shake the feeling that something new has just begun.


	2. Part II

_I've finally started working on extending my wot3 au that I originally posted on tumblr (frankchurchillsaysrelax) for rucasfanfictionweek2016._

 _Like in wot3 Riley's window wasn't open for Maya to crawl in through and isn't a part of her life. Yet. Like a lot of people I was really disappointed with how they portrayed the characters in that episode so I started writing this. Hopefully you all will like this little world I've created as much as I do!_

* * *

Part II

The first time they get paired together for an assignment Riley thinks she knows what to expect. She's used to doing most of the work in a group setting but she is pleasantly surprised when Lucas automatically dives into their in-class reading and starts taking notes.

She's ashamed to admit that she had underestimated him. In the week that he's been here Lucas has already become friendly with the popular kids like Missy Bradford and Billy Ross. She assumed that he would prefer to spend this English class talking to Billy who, as always, is sat in the row next to her letting Darby Walker do everything on her own.

Instead he takes thorough notes and makes sure to ask for her opinion on how they should approach the questions.

It's another thing she likes about him, she decides.

"I think we're all set," Lucas says. He tosses his pencil down on his worksheet and leans back in his chair.

"Yeah," she agrees, playing nervously with her pen. "Do you want to look over it one more time or should I take these up front?" She grabs her own paper and holds a hand out for his which he gives her without a word.

It's getting easier to talk to him in their shared classes but there is still an air of mystery surrounding the new boy. He doesn't talk much either, but unlike her this only seems to make people flock to him more.

If she were more adventurous maybe she would try to get to know him better, try to talk to him like she did on his first day. But that's not her; so after handing in their assignment she returns to her seat and folds her hands in her lap, waiting for the bell to ring.

* * *

After a few weeks the teachers caught on to the fact that they work well together. She doesn't mind being partnered with him it's just that she still knows hardly anything about him, despite having spent quite a few hours both in and out of class together.

The first time her father reluctantly put him in the same group with her, Farkle, and Sarah, the four of them quickly exchanged phone numbers so they could set up a time to meet over the weekend. That's how she learned that Lucas usually travels back to Texas for the weekends, leaving directly after school on Friday and not returning until late Sunday evening.

Riley looks down at her phone, opened to her conversation with the enigmatic Texan. There are few texts with long stretches of time between dates, mostly times and locations of when they would meet with the occasional question about homework thrown in. Riley has drafted so many other messages that have never been sent. She wonders if she's allowed to ask him personal questions; if he would even respond.

 **Riley: Hi Lucas, how are you? How is Texas? If you are in Texas that is. If not, that's nice too.**

"Hi Riley."

She quickly deletes the rambling text before setting the phone down on the table. She looks up to see her bowl cut and turtleneck bearing friend standing beside her booth with his eight year old brother in tow.

"Hey Farkle, hi Albie." The younger boy ignores her and his eyes don't move from his tablet.

When he was younger Albert used to love working in the back of the bakery with Mrs. Svorski and Auggie, but in the last couple of years he's claimed that he was too old for such sentimental activities.

"Albie, go sit over there," Farkle waves toward a table in the corner where he will still be able to keep an eye on him, while taking his books from his backpack and settling into the seat across from Riley. The other boy does as he's told, still not looking up from his tablet even as he walks through the crowded bakery.

"I assumed that you would be here this evening. Your father was wearing his black plaid tie in class today which from previous experience allowed me to deduce that your parents were partaking in one of their _date nights_ and that therefore you and Auggie would be here with Mrs. Svorski. I hope you don't mind us joining you," the genius says barely glancing away from his laptop.

"You're always welcome here Farkle, you know that." Riley smiles at her friend before going back to her textbook from earlier; with Farkle here she will stay focused and stop thinking so much about a certain someone.

"Is Marie with the nanny tonight?" she asks after a brief silence.

"Yes, Mother and Father don't think it practical for me to take both Albie and a two year old out into the city by myself. I don't mind though," Farkle looks directly at her and leans in across the table to whisper, "I haven't quite figured out the stroller yet." The shame on his face from admitting he doesn't understand something is obvious.

Riley nods sympathetically before raising her book in front of her face to hide her amused grin.

* * *

It's the Monday after Cyclone Day and Riley is home sick with a cold. The lines had been long again this year and her father had wanted to ride the rollercoaster again and again and again; something about Riley getting older and how any day now she would tell him she was too old for this daddy-daughter tradition.

She'd tried to reassure him that that would never happen but he'd insisted, and sometimes it is just best to not argue with Cory Matthews. So here she is, laying underneath a pile of blankets, her nose red and runny, and her throat dry after a long night of standing around in the damp cold.

Her phone beeps with a text notification sometime during her third episode of The Red Planet Diaries and she gropes around her bedding for a minute in search of it. When she finds it and has the screen unlocked she almost calls out for her mother to come check her temperature.

Clearly she is running a very high fever and it is causing her to hallucinate; before she can question her sanity further, her phone beeps again.

 **Lucas: Sorry to hear you are sick :(**

 **Lucas: Do you need someone to bring you your homework?**

She has already started typing out an enthusiastic yes when she remembers that Farkle has already promised to bring her all of her assignments. Sighing roughly through her dry throat, she tells him as much and within less than a minute he responds with a simple _ok_. She thinks that's the end of it and goes back to her show until a few minutes later when her phone beeps again.

 **Lucas: So your dad said something about a cyclone? Sounds dangerous…**

Riley is positive that if she weren't already lying down that she might have actually passed out. Instead she just wiggles around a bit in something akin to her usual happy dance before answering him.

Maybe they will be friends after all.


End file.
